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Please don't expect Thomas to be a Polamalu. You will likely be highly disappointed.

Polamalu set a new standard for how SS can be played and is clearly a first ballot HOFer.

I prefer to expect every Steeler player to be an All Pro until he proves otherwise. Sure, I'll likely be disappointed, but it makes the anticipation more fun. Plus, by the time any player disappoints, there will be another of him in the pipeline to have high expectations all over. Very few ever surpass my expectations, but oh well

just curious flippy, who was the last Steelers player to surpass your expectations?

Ben and Troy are the 2 current guys that come to mind.

Later round picks or UDFAs have also surpassed my expectations over the years as well. Current guys on the roster like Foster, Keisel, Clark, AB, McClendon, Beachum, and Redman.

After seeing guys play, my expectations often become more realistic, then I've been pleasantly surprised by some guys I thought would be awful like Keenan, Dwyer, and even DJ who I thought was turning a big corner last year prior to his injury.

MARRONE CHOSE A DIFFERENT STRONG SAFETY SIX PICKS BEFORE WE TRADED NEXT YEAR'S THIRD ROUND PICK TO GET SHAMARKO. That 4.105 pick is quite bothersome in my mind. It just doesn't make sense to me, unless there is something about Shamarko that his former coach DIDN'T like about him that we don't know about.

Sure, Duke Williams is 2 inches taller than Shamarko (5'11" vs. 5'9"), but the Shark is 10 lbs heavier (203 vs. 213), runs the 40 yard dash .11 seconds faster (4.48 vs. 4.37), had 15 more lifts of 225 lbs on the bench (13 vs. 28...MORE THAN DOUBLED HIM), jumped 3 inches higher in the vertical (37.5 vs. 40.5), and jumped 7 inches farther in the broad (10'6" vs. 11'1"). NFLDraftScout.com (one of the most respected draft sites on the internet; CBS Sports and USA Today use them) had Shamarko projected as a 3rd or 4th round prospect, with Duke Williams projected as a 5th round prospect. It's not as if Duke Williams is a ball-hawk either (he has 1 INT this season, 1 INT last season, and 2 INT's the year before that). I can't wrap my mind around why in the world that Marrone would take someone like Duke Williams over a known quantity like Shamarko Thomas at the same position. It bothers me.

MARRONE CHOSE A DIFFERENT STRONG SAFETY SIX PICKS BEFORE WE TRADED NEXT YEAR'S THIRD ROUND PICK TO GET SHAMARKO. That 4.105 pick is quite bothersome in my mind. It just doesn't make sense to me, unless there is something about Shamarko that his former coach DIDN'T like about him that we don't know about.

Sure, Duke Williams is 2 inches taller than Shamarko (5'11" vs. 5'9"), but the Shark is 10 lbs heavier (203 vs. 213), runs the 40 yard dash .11 seconds faster (4.48 vs. 4.37), had 15 more lifts of 225 lbs on the bench (13 vs. 28...MORE THAN DOUBLED HIM), jumped 3 inches higher in the vertical (37.5 vs. 40.5), and jumped 7 inches farther in the broad (10'6" vs. 11'1"). NFLDraftScout.com (one of the most respected draft sites on the internet; CBS Sports and USA Today use them) had Shamarko projected as a 3rd or 4th round prospect, with Duke Williams projected as a 5th round prospect. It's not as if Duke Williams is a ball-hawk either (he has 1 INT this season, 1 INT last season, and 2 INT's the year before that). I can't wrap my mind around why in the world that Marrone would take someone like Duke Williams over a known quantity like Shamarko Thomas at the same position. It bothers me.

That's some great info.

I am still hopeful because

(1) A brand new coach might not have much - if any - input on draft decisions. Their FO might have put more faith in their scouting team that got to see a more diverse group. They may have also fallen in love with Williams for one reason or another. The Coach's vote may have been to get Shark, but he may have been over-ruled. It's too bad we'd never get any "insider" info on something like this.

(2) It's not like the Bills are a shining example of how to run a franchise. Hopefully, this is just one of their many post K-Gun screw-ups with personnel.